A university professor who died in what looked like a home invasion suffered severe and unusual wounds and was not killed in a random attack, police said.

Plantation police confirmed Thursday that they have questioned a "person of interest" in the stabbing death of Nova Southeastern University Professor Joseph Morrissey, 46.

Although police have not identified the person, defense attorney Jim Lewis said police questioned his client, Randy H. Tundidor, 21, about the slaying. A SWAT team took Tundidor into custody as he waited for an order of chicken fingers and fries at a Plantation restaurant Wednesday afternoon.

Tundidor was not charged in connection with Morrissey's death, Lewis said, but was arrested for failing to report to his probation officer for a 2006 burglary case.

Lewis acknowledged that it would be highly unusual for a SWAT team to swoop into a public place and make an arrest simply over a probation violation.

"At this point, all I can say is I am representing him for whatever does come down the line," Lewis said. "I would say that if any allegations were to come forward in terms of something of a violent nature, that would be very shocking to me and that is not the Randy Tundidor that I knew."

Plantation police spokesman Detective Robert Rettig declined to say why detectives believe the Tuesday morning killing wasn't random. He said police have not ruled out that more than one person was involved.

Neighbors confirmed that Tundidor's relatives live in a Plantation townhome owned by Morrissey.

Just before midnight Monday, a man cut through a screen and entered an open window at the Morrissey home in the 600 block of Northwest 75th Terrace, Rettig said. The intruder took the couple to a nearby ATM and forced them at gunpoint to withdraw cash, Rettig said. The amount withdrawn and location of the ATM were not released.

Morrissey's wife, Linda, told police the robber took them back home, tied them up, set fire to the kitchen and killed her husband before fleeing, Rettig said.

Linda Morrissey, 48, and the couple's 5-year-old son, who slept through the ordeal, managed to escape, police said. Although it was first reported that the pharmaceutical sciences professor died of gunfire -- and several neighbors reported hearing shots -- the Broward Medical Examiner on Thursday described Morrissey's lethal injuries as stab-type puncture wounds.

Two sources close to the investigation said that because of his severe and unusual wounds, authorities are trying to determine whether Morrissey was tortured. They shot down rumors that the professor's ears and fingers had been severed. When a nervous-looking, tattooed man clutching a handful of money arrived at the Beverly Hills Cafe on Cleary Boulevard at about 3:15 p.m. Wednesday, he caught the attention of manager Sandra Marcelo.

He changed tables several times and placed an order for chicken fingers and fries, she said.

Within minutes, more than a dozen uniformed police officers swooped in, ordered everyone to put their hands up, and went straight for the tattooed man, Marcelo said. The $152 he was clutching fell to the floor.

Tundidor worked for his father's Plantation car-window tinting business and has struggled with drug issues, said Lewis, who represented him in the burglary case.

Police on Thursday night were at the business, Gator Tint. Attempts to reach Tundidor's father there were unsuccessful. In 2008 Tundidor pleaded no contest to burglary, dealing in stolen property and grand theft. A formal conviction was withheld from his criminal record and he was sentenced to a year in jail, followed by five years probation and a stint in a sobriety program, according to court records.

Lewis pushed for a lighter sentence, saying Tundidor had bipolar disorder and that the burglary victim, a relative of his, didn't want to prosecute.

Staff Writers Rafael A. Olmeda and Juan Ortega contributed to this report. Tonya Alanez can be reached at tealanez@SunSentinel.com or 954-356-4542.